


when i'm sixty-four

by Kit_Kat21



Series: Beatles Tribute [17]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Doctor/Patient, F/M, Marriage, Married Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 00:02:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18304196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kit_Kat21/pseuds/Kit_Kat21
Summary: He’s glad Sansa’s here. At first, when they had first gotten married, he hadn’t liked her coming to these appointments with him; as if he was trying to keep her separate from this part of his life. That had lasted for all of five seconds before Sansa gave him that fierce Stark frown and reminded him "in sickness and in health" and his health and one kidney had absolutely everything to do with her, too.





	when i'm sixty-four

…

 

Sansa and Jon exchange smiles as he holds the door open for her, allowing her to enter the office first, and as Sansa goes to sit down in one of the empty waiting room chairs, Jon goes to the front desk to check in. He comes back a moment later and sits down next to her.

 

“He’s actually running a little ahead,” Jon tells her.

 

“See?” Sansa smiles. “And you wanted to stop for coffee first.”

 

Jon just smiles and sinks a little lower into the chair, his hand sliding onto her thigh, Sansa covering his hand with hers. He doesn’t know why it is, but every doctor’s office he’s ever been in, they have some of the most uncomfortable chairs he’s ever sat in. He has to wonder if it’s all in his mind; if the chairs really aren’t that uncomfortable and it’s just being in a doctor’s office that makes his body stiff and tense.

 

Jon leans his head back against the wall behind him and closes his eyes. Sansa scrolls through her phone, her thumb gently rubbing back and forth across the top of his hand.

 

He’s glad Sansa’s here. At first, when they had first gotten married, he hadn’t liked her coming to these appointments with him; as if he was trying to keep her separate from this part of his life. That had lasted for all of five seconds before Sansa gave him that fierce Stark frown and reminded him _in sickness and in health_ and his health and one kidney had absolutely everything to do with her, too.

 

Now, she comes with him to every single checkup and Jon can’t imagine her not being here.

 

A door that leads into the back rooms open and a nurse appears with a chart hugged to her chest. “Jon?” She smiles and Jon opens his eyes, standing up. He waits for Sansa to stand up, too, and slip her phone back into her purse before he takes her hand and together, they follow the nurse into the back. “How are we today?” The nurse asks, leading them to an empty exam room.

 

“Feeling good today,” Jon answers honestly.

 

“Good,” the nurse smiles at that. “Let’s get your weight really quick.” There is a scale in the hall and Jon lets go of Sansa’s hand so he can step up. Once the digital number appears, Jon steps off again and the nurse writes the number down in the chart.

 

“Is it good?” Sansa asks the nurse.

 

“Yes,” the nurse assures them both with a smile. “A good, healthy weight.”

 

“Sansa watches what I eat like a hawk,” Jon says as they follow the nurse into the exam room.

 

“ _Healthy_ weight, Jon,” Sansa reminds him with a frown.

 

“He’s lucky to have you, Sansa,” the nurse smiles.

 

“See?” Sansa says to Jon, smiling once again, and Jon just smiles without saying anything to that.

 

“Hop up there, Jon, and the doctor will be in here shortly,” the nurse says.

 

“Thanks,” Jon says and she then leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

 

Jon settles himself up onto the exam table, the paper sheet beneath him crinkling, and Sansa sits down in the chair against the wall. She pulls out her cell phone again just to send a quick text to Lyanna, who is watching George, Eleanor and Julia for them, to let her mother-in-law know that they will be seeing the doctor shortly.

 

Just as Sansa hits ‘send’, the door opens and Jon’s doctor, Dr. Martin, enters with a smile and Sansa puts her phone away, getting to her feet.

 

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Snow. How are we today?” Dr. Martin asks, closing the door behind him while glancing down to Jon’s chart before looking up once again with a smile for them both.

 

“I’ve been feeling good,” Jon answers the doctor as he had the nurse.

 

“Good. Your weight looks good. Let’s take a look at your blood pressure.”

 

Sansa stands at Jon’s side as Dr. Martin puts the arm cuff around Jon’s arm and begins squeezing the ball. She has been to so many of these check-ups with Jon and they’re all the same – check his weight and his blood pressure – both having to be watched and remain at a healthy level. Those with one kidney are prone to high blood pressure and though Jon is still relatively young, it’s something they always have to keep an eye on.

 

“Getting plenty of exercise?” Dr. Martin asks once he says that his blood pressure looks good and goes to write that number down into his chart. “With four kids, I imagine it would be.”

 

“Soon-to-be five,” Jon says, looking to Sansa with a smile, and she smiles, too.

 

“Congratulations!” Dr. Martin cheers them both genuinely. “Five kids, we’re really going to have to keep an eye on your blood pressure,” he then chuckles. “And things at work, you’re not pushing yourself too hard, are you?”

 

“I’m no longer doing roof work per your orders,” Jon confirms.

 

“Good,” Dr. Martin says as he slips on his stethoscope to listen to Jon’s heart. “No reason you should be carrying lumber and insulation up and down ladders. You’re the boss, so it’s your job to boss others to do those things instead of you.”

 

“My exact words,” Sansa agrees.

 

Dr. Martin smiles as he listens to Jon’s heart, instructing him to take deep breaths, and Sansa stands, watching, feeling nervous though she does her best to tell herself to quit it. These appointments really are all the same – except sometimes there are different instructions Dr. Martin gives Jon – but so far, his life with one kidney has gone as smoothly as expected. Sansa supposes she’s just always nervous because it’s her way of bracing herself in case this specific appointment isn’t the same as the others.

 

“Good,” Dr. Martin says again, draping his stethoscope around his neck. He takes Jon’s chart again, making a few more notes, and he then sits down on his stool. “So, as always, we’ll take a blood test and a urine test, to make sure the kidney is removing waste from the bloodstream and to see how your protein levels are. The last GFR test we did, your single kidney was functioning properly and hopefully, that keeps up for many, many more years.

 

“Now, I remember your last blood test, I mentioned potential proteinuria, which people living with one kidney can be susceptible to. Have you noticed any swelling in the ankles or abdomen?”

 

“None,” Jon answers truthfully.

 

“I’ve been watching for it and haven’t seen anything,” Sansa confirms.

 

“Very good. I’m sure this latest blood test will show me just that, but I do want to try something. For the next month, until your next checkup with me, I would like you to try your hardest to stick to a low protein diet. Just for this next month.”

 

“But if my blood isn’t showing that I have proteinuria, why the need for a special diet?” Jon asks.

 

“My curiosity, I admit,” Dr. Martin answers. “I just want to watch the fluid and sodium levels in your body and how they differ from the blood test today to the blood test we take in a month. Next month, we’ll have you back on a normal diet.”

 

“Please tell my wife I’m allowed to eat _some_ meats or she’s going to have me eating nothing, but-”

 

“Low protein foods include vegetables, bread, cereals, pasta, fruits and sugars,” Sansa reads from her phone, having already looked it up the instant she heard Dr. Martin say it.

 

Jon gives her a look, but Sansa just gives him one in return and Dr. Martin smiles at them both.

 

“He’s allowed _some_ meat, Sansa,” Dr. Martin tells her. “Doctors orders.”

 

“If I just eat bread and pasta for the next month, my weight won’t be good the next time I see you,” Jon says as Dr. Martin stands up to get a needle to draw blood.

 

“You’re young. You’ll be fine,” Dr. Martin just smiles. “Run after your kids for a while.”

 

After the blood is drawn and Jon goes into the bathroom to pee into the plastic cup, he and Sansa leave, stopping at the front desk to make Jon’s next appointment for the next month.

 

“We have a couple of hours before Brandon’s bus drops him off and your mom texted to let me know that George, Eleanor and Julia are _all_ miraculously taking naps right now so right now is the perfect time to go the grocery store,” Sansa says as they leave the medical building where Dr. Martin’s office is and head back towards their car.

 

“Sansa,” Jon turns back to face her, taking her hands in his. “I love you. You know I love you. But for the next month, I’m going to need you to _not_ be crazy about this.”

 

“Ha!” Sansa exclaims. “No chance of that, Jon Snow. I’m pregnant and we have doctor’s orders to follow so on the way to the grocery store, you better think of your favorite cereals you want to eat for the next month.”

 

She walks past him, continuing on the way to the car, and Jon hangs his head for a moment before turning and following.

 

“Look what I found!” Sansa holds out her phone as he unlocks the doors with a beep of the key and Jon leans in, looking across the roof to her phone screen and all he needs to see is “Low-Protein Recipes” across the top.

 

“Sansa,” he groans as he opens his door and gets in behind the wheel.

 

“What?” Sansa asks as she gets into the passenger seat. “Do you like alfalfa sprouts? We’ll pick up some alfalfa sprouts at the store. And we can get you _some_ meats.”

 

“I know. Dr. Martin told you,” Jon says, starting the engine.

 

“We can get thinly sliced meats at the deli counter to stretch the protein and make you think you’re eating more of it than you actually are,” Sansa says, reading from her phone.

 

“Next month, what are the odds that you won’t be able to come to my next appointment?” Jon wonders out loud as he pulls from the parking lot.

 

Sansa promptly smacks him in the arm with her hand and Jon can’t help, but break into a grin.

 

“In sickness and in health, Jon,” is all she reminds him and after he makes the turn, heading in the direction of the grocery store near their house, Jon takes her hand, giving the palm a kiss, and Sansa smiles as she keeps reading things from her phone.

 

…

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you!


End file.
